Four hour power

Four hours, end to end.

That's a new vision from Commercial Airplanes' Material Management organization, formerly known as Spares. It means that from the time a Boeing airplane operator contacts Material Management for an airplane part until the time the part is sitting on the Boeing loading dock ready to be shipped shouldn't take any longer than four hours.

That's quite a challenge. Delivering spare parts is a vast and complex undertaking. Boeing keeps more than half a million different types of parts in inventory at sites in Europe, the Middle East, the Asia/Pacific region, and the Americas. Detailed part numbers are required to ensure that the right part goes to the right airplane. And airplanes can be located anywhere in the world when they need a part. But it's an important initiative to help bolster Commercial Airplanes' customer-support capabilities—which in turn makes Boeing more competitive in the jetliner market.

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Always here for you

As with the beginning of many significant endeavors, the Boeing Commercial Airplanes Operations Center had a rather inauspicious start. In fact, Bob Manelski, director of the new, around-the-clock center, described opening day—Dec. 9, 2005—as "the perfect storm."

"We faced challenges with last-minute painting, carpet laying, systems testing, a large queue of work, the occupancy permit, information technology and phone systems, and a major airline incident," Manelski said. "I'm pleased to say that it's been getting better ever since."

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A model business

Melbourne, Australia, might be 9,000 miles away from Boeing's corporate center in Chicago, but it's home to an important part of the company's future.

Preston Aviation Solutions, a Boeing subsidiary in Australia, plays a vital role in making sure the aviation industry can continue to grow and operate in the most efficient manner possible. Preston is an industry leader in advanced simulation, decision support and scheduling software. Its products help customers such as airlines, civil aviation authorities, air navigation service providers, airspace planners and airport operators understand how plans for capacity growth, scheduling, construction and more might affect their operations before they are implemented. That ability helps them avoid bottlenecks and increase efficiency.

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